


When I Fall In Love

by camille_E



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: F/M, anderperry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-02-14 01:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12996870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camille_E/pseuds/camille_E
Summary: Don't ask her how, but for some reason, Diana Hartley got accepted into Wellton, under the alias of Dan Hartley. As if dressing up as a boy, worrying about keeping her true identity a secret, getting good grades, and making friends isn't hard enough, she also has to deal with her roommate. And even if she doesn't want to, she can't help but feel a connection with the biggest jerk in the universe: Charlie Dalton.(I suck at summaries. It's basically your typical 'Girl at Wellton' story but than a bit different and probably a lot crappier. The story starts of a bit rough but it gets better, trust me. I also follow the original storyline, sorry not sorry, but I do change a bit of the timeline and I added in canon Anderperry.)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So if you're reading this you probably A. Just saw the movie or B. are obsessed with it and know it by heart. Because of this, I decided to not just copy the entire script and add in an original character. The storyline is still the same (except for anon Anderperry and some few changes in the timeline for extra character/relationship development), but I personally don't feel the need to copy exact scenes. Most of the scenes are original, with some few scenes from the movie between them.

She straightened her suit, whilst getting out of her cab. She tugged her binder up one last time, making sure that her chest was flattened. Still confused as for why she got into Wellton, she picked up her suitcase and started walking towards the entrance of the school. She was surrounded by a crowd of boys her age, and couldn’t help but look around in awe. The building was absolutely beautiful, the architecture amazed her. In excitement of what was waiting for her inside, she strode forward. The thought of finally being in the school where she had always wanted to be filled her with joy, even if it meant pretending to be a gender that she was not. She was aware that she had missed the opening ceremony, but prayed that she wouldn’t get in trouble for it. It had surprised her that nobody had found out about her being a female, but her guess was that they didn’t check their student's backgrounds as well as she had thought. She walked up towards a wall, that was crowded with young fellas. A list was hung up on the wall, with the dorm arrangements on them. For a second she waited for the boys to move out of her way, but then she was reminded that she was just like them from now on. A sigh escaped her lips as she pushed her way to the front, ignoring the fact that one of the boys elbowed her in the chest, which hurt like a truck. She finally made her way up to the wall and starting searching for her own name. Her eyes hurried over the many unknown names. Steven Meeks, Neil Perry, Todd Anderson…. Dan Hartley, the best male name she could come up with for Diana Hartley. Room 211. She wondered who her roommate would be this year, hoping he would be some sort of a gentleman. Dragging her suitcase up the stairs, since she wasn’t used to holding such a heavy weight for such a long time, she arrived on the second floor. In front of her was a hallway filled with more boys, all shouting at each other in excitement. Without drawing too much attention she moved to her room. After struggling for a bit, she was able to open the door and step inside. She immediately slammed the door close, throwing her suitcase on the bed and taking a deep breath. The sounds from the hallway were still hearable in the room, but that didn’t stop her from taking a moment to appreciate that she was alone, knowing that it would be rare from now on. She wasn’t able to enjoy the silence for very long since the door flew open. Her head jerked up and she looked at the boy in the door opening in shock. She coughed and stood straight, putting her hand out for the boy to shake. ‘Hi, I’m Dan Hartley.’ She was lucky that her voice was naturally lower than most girls, making it not too hard to make it sound believable.   
The boy in front of her looked down at her hand and smirked slightly. ‘Charlie Dalton.’ He walked straight past her, ignoring the hand in front of him. She dropped her hand quickly and sighed, nice start. She turned her attention back to her suitcase and opened it, before closing it hastily again after having noticed that her girl clothes were laying on top. She had packed some just in case. Maybe she would meet a guy in this town, then she would need them. Not that that would happen anytime soon, but a girl could always hope.   
‘So, Dan. Since I haven’t seen you before, what are you doing here at Hellton?’ Her roommate, Charlie, suddenly asked.   
She turned her head towards him and smiled confusedly. ‘Hellton? Is this school that bad?’  
Charlie scoffed and smirked again. ‘Oh yes, you will see. I have tried so many times to get kicked out, that’s how bad. Unless you are a genius, like Meeks from the room across from here.’ The boy laid down on his bed and fished a cigarette out of his pocket. He lit it swiftly and put it between his lips. He inhaled the smoke, his eyebrows furrowed and he shut his eyes for a second. For the first time, Diana took a moment to really look at him. He had a straight nose, but it fit the rest of his face really well. He had slightly big, brown eyes and dark brown hair. He wasn’t the most handsome guy in the world, but he carried this sexy confidence with him. He wasn’t extremely skinny like most of the boys here, and definitely not as obedient. She couldn’t help but think that he was a charming fella, but turned herself away again, not wanting him to think that she was weird for staring so long.   
‘You didn’t answer my question.’   
Diana kept her back towards him. ‘My parents thought that I was wasting my potential at my previous school.’ She knew that she was lying, but talking about why she really was here was not a story to be told within five minutes of knowing someone. She heard him blow out a cloud of smoke, but still kept her face towards the wall.   
‘So, there is this Latin Study Group tomorrow night, want to join?’ He said, sitting up straight. ‘You could meet the other lads.’  
She thought about it. Joining this study group would give her the opportunity to make new friends here, since she was sure that she wouldn’t survive the year without. And she had problems with Latin, so she could actually learn something from it. After being silent for a few seconds, she turned to face him again. ‘Sure, why not?’  
He nodded and stood up, walking towards the door. ‘I’m going to the room next door, see you at dinner.’ He exited the room and slammed the door shut again. She liked him, even though he screamed trouble. She didn’t give herself much time to think about him, as she could finally start unpacking.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like the beginning of this story is really shitty, but I just have to deal with it since I'm not talented enough to make it good.

The first day at Wellton had gone by slowly, very slowly. She had stuck to Charlie’s side and had been able to make some new friends, thanks to him. She found herself rather enjoying the presence of these men, especially Neil and Todd. Todd was very shy, but he was a good listener, which made it easy to talk to him. Neil was the kind one, he could never harm anyone. She could already tell that Steven was one of the smartest of the group, although she was sure that all of them had incredibly high IQ’s. Knox was a sweetheart, Diana was convinced that the girl that would end up with him would be very lucky. Gerard was a bit goofy, but that’s what she liked about him. She still hadn’t really made her mind up about Cameron, but she was sure that most of the other boys hadn’t either. Cameron was quite a hub cap, he tried to be cool but failed miserably. They had just finished their first English class, their last class of the day. As they walked out of the building, books in hands, they discussed the new teacher.   
‘That was weird.’ said Gerard, who was walking alongside of Neil.  
‘But different.’ Neil responded.  
Knox stared straight ahead. ‘Spooky, if you ask me.’   
Cameron looked at the other boys confused. ‘Will he test us on that stuff?’  
‘Oh come on, Cameron,’ Charlie turned around, looking at the redhead. ‘Don’t you get anything?’ He sighed and started ignoring the confused boy behind him. Even though Diana was looking straight ahead, she could feel Charlie looking at her. ‘So, what did you think?’  
She shrugged. ‘I agree with Neil. Even though it was different, I quite enjoyed this lesson.’ She spoke, lowering her voice slightly. She knew that she had to work on her speaking a bit more, but for now this would do. The group walked across from the field, towards the dorms.   
‘I can’t wait for a shower. One day back at Hell-ton and I am already exhausted.’ Gerard complained, moving his neck from left to right.   
‘Second that.’ Meeks agreed.  
Diana found herself panicking, suddenly being reminded of the fact that they all showered together. How had she not thought of that yet? She looked around, thinking about a way to not have to take a shower, and saw Todd having a panicked look on his face as well. She fastened her walk, catching up with him, and smiled kindly. ‘So, you don’t feel like showering with all of them too?’   
He looked down at the ground, being embarrassed.   
‘Don’t worry, I don’t want to either. We’ll just wait awkwardly together.’ She thought about putting her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but reminded herself quickly that she didn’t want to come off as strange, so she just continued to walk in silence. 

Her and Todd were both sitting against the window, trying not to come off as too weird while being surrounded by halve-naked guys. Diana was trying to keep a straight face while having some ordinary conversation with Cameron and Pitts. A teacher walked into their little changing room and told them to hurry up, addressing Charlie in particular. Charlie gave him a confused look, but then continued with combing his hair. Diana caught herself looking at the boy from behind, noticing his back muscles. None of the boys were really toned, but Charlie had some muscle showing. She had never been into the really big guys, the ones who had the huge biceps. The way Charlie was built was just how she preferred it, not too skinny and not too big. She looked up to the mirror standing in front of Charlie, who at that very moment looked at her through the reflection. She could feel a blush rising on her cheeks, but tried to ignore the feeling that seeing Charlie like this arose in her. Neil suddenly snapped his fingers, shaking both her and Todd out of their thoughts. ‘Hey, you coming to the study group tonight?’ he asked, mostly directed to Todd.   
‘No… No, I’ve got some homework to do.’ Todd fidgeted nervously while speaking, but he did seem more comfortable around Neil.  
‘Suit yourself.’ Neil smiled swiftly and walked away. Diana looked at Todd, noticing the way his gaze was still on Neil and how he looked down at his body for a split-second, before turning away in shame. She swore that she had seen his cheeks become a light shade of pink, just like hers had a minute ago. 

Charlie was laying on the bed, just like he had the day before, with a cig between his lips. Diane was sitting at one of the desks, being focused on her homework. Charlie took a drag and wrinkled his brows, looking at her with a puzzled look in his eyes. ‘Are you seriously doing your homework?’  
Diane turned around to look at the boy and shrugged. ‘I don’t want to flunk out in the first week here.’  
Charlie chuckled softly, a smirk appearing on his face. He shook his head and looked at his roommate. ‘Have you forgotten about the study group? You can easily do your work there, and you won’t even have to think about the questions. Cameron will probably tell you the answer in annoyance of you not getting it right.’   
‘Oh yeah, I guess so.’ Diane slammed her book shut and sat down on the bed, looking at the lit cigarette that Charlie was holding. After noticing her looking at it, he held it out for her to use. She thankfully took it and inhaled the smoke, enjoying the taste and slightly burning feeling of her lungs. She had not been able to smoke since she got here, which had been almost two days by now. The boy in front of her studied her face intensely. Something about the way she held the cigarette was off. The way her lips formed around it made it seem almost… feminine. He had spent the last few years smoking with boys, it was easy for him to recognize strange smoking behavior. He had to admit that he had noticed this weird aura around his roommate before. Whatever it was that weirded Charlie out about the boy, he was sure that he would find out sooner or later. Charlie smirked after seeing that Dan had opened his eyes, being in discomfort at his roommate staring at him like this. Little did he know that Diana was not in discomfort of him watching her, much as her being uncomfortable because she was scared that she had done something wrong. Did he know? Diane gave the cig back and coughed. ‘Shouldn’t we be going to the common room?’   
Charlie’s eyes shot to the clock and he nodded slowly. ‘You’re right, let’s go.’ He swung his legs to the left and sat up, then proceeding to stand and walk towards the door. While walking he snatched a book from the desk she was sitting at, ignoring the fact that the book had been hers. He turned around, just before he left her eyesight and smirked. ‘I lost my book already, so I guess we’re going to have to share one.’ He smirked and left the room, leaving a nervous Diana behind.

The whole group was set at a table, with the exception of Todd and Knox, who were somewhere else. Meeks and Pitts were working on an illegal radio together. Diana had no clue how they made it, since she didn’t know a thing about electronics. Cameron was standing in between Charlie and Neil, looming above them and talking about the homework they had to do. Diana was sitting right from Charlie, almost pressing herself into him so she could see the book that Charlie had in front of him. She was praying that he wouldn’t notice the slight height difference in her chest, since it was practically against his arm all the time. The binder was able to make her breast go unnoticed underneath her clothes, but it wasn’t able to make them disappear altogether. She watched the boy next to her, trying to figure out if he felt it, but all that she saw was him looking up at Cameron with a confused look on his face. Diana’s gaze shot at the entrance as she heard Knox come in. He closed the door again and leaned back into it. He had a dreamy, yet sad, look in his eyes. Knox had only been in the room for two seconds, and Diana could already see that he had fallen in love.   
‘How was the dinner?’ Charlie looked past Diana and straight at Knox.  
Knox sighed and looked at the table where they were all sitting at. ‘Terrible.’   
Yep, he was definitely in love. Head over heels for this unknown girl.  
‘Awful.’ Knox said, sitting down at the table. ‘Tonight,’ he began his explanation, ‘I met the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my entire life.’   
Charlie smiled and Neil spoke up: ‘Are you crazy? What’s wrong with that?’   
‘She’s practically engaged,’ he responded, ‘to Chet Danburry.’   
Everyone responded with a understanding look on their faces. As they started talking about Knox’s unlucky crush, Diana understood that this Chet was a football player at their local high school, and a complete jerk. Suddenly a teacher marched into the common room, and announced that they only had five minutes until curfew. Charlie packed his stuff, Diana following his moves. Right before they walked away Charlie leaned forward, towards Knox. ‘Did you see her naked?’ He asked, with an amused look on his face.   
‘Very funny, Dalton.’ mumbled Knox, not being in the mood to think of something clever to say in return. Meeks and Pitts tried to hide their radio, but of course the teacher noticed. The last thing Diana heard while leaving the room was them trying to convince the old man that it was indeed a science experiment. Laughing at the stupidity of the boys, she followed the crowd to the dorms.


	3. Chapter 3

They were all sitting at the dinner table, discussing the latest English class from Mr. Keating. Most of the boys liked his lessons, but Cameron hated it. He kept on talking about it being too radical, making Diana so frustrated that she would rather walk away than listen to another minute of him vocalizing his fetish for traditions. They were passing around this old yearbook, looking at the picture of young Mr. Keating. The boys were discussing the mention of something called ‘The Dead Poets Society’, which was written under Mr. Keatings name. Right after lunch, they chased after their professor, desperate for answers. Keating had explained to them that the Dead Poets Society was a group of boys who would sneak out at night and read poetry to each other, only he explained it a bit more artistic than Diana ever could. She could tell that he was a poet, just by the way that he spoke. The bell rang, making it clear that the classes were about to start again. While making their way back to the main building, they discussed sneaking out that night to do the same thing Keating had done with his friends. After some negotiating, most of them agreed, with the exception of Cameron. So that night, they all decided to wake up at 12 and meetup in the hallway. Diana had not been able to go to sleep, knowing that she needed time to put on her wig and binder before Charlie would leave his slumber. She needed those few hours in bed where her chest didn’t feel so tight that it felt like her ribcage would break. So she stared at the ceiling for a straight two hours, listening to the noises the boy next to her was making in his sleep. She turned on her side, looking at him. He looked at peace and she was pretty sure this was the first time where she’d seen him without some sort of smirk. She had been at Wellton for almost two whole weeks, and she had already figured out that Charlie was the only one of the boys he didn’t wear plaid pajama’s. Every other boy at this school wore them, including herself, but he restrained from them. He also usually didn’t wear his blazer with his uniform, like the other students. She guessed that this was his way of going against the system and rules, like the stereotypical troublemaker he was. Her eyes darted towards the clock, realizing that they were supposed to meet outside the rooms in 20 minutes. With suppressed panic, since she didn’t wanted to make too much noise, Diana stood up and reached under her bed, grabbing her wig and binders as soundlessly as she could. She pulled of her shirt, ignoring the sudden cold air around her. As quickly as she could, she put on the binder and put her hair up in a makeshift bun. She put on the wig as quickly as she could, looking back at Charlie to make sure that he was still dreaming of whatever he dreamt of. She pulled down her pants, but lost her balance. She fell down into her bed again, freezing in position and praying that he didn’t hear. After listening for a few seconds for any sign of him being awake, she stood up again and, this time, pulled down her pants with success. Little did she know that the boy laying in the bed next to hers had heard her falling down, and was now staring at his roommate in confusion. Even though the light was dim, he noticed the way how Dan’s hips were a lot rounder than they were supposed to be . But the thing that stood out to him the most was that his roommate was wearing white, high-waisted, knickers. 

They had been able to sneak out without any trouble. It was colder than Diana had been expecting, which resulted in her shivering all the time. She was walking next to Todd, who was just as cold as she was. The rest of the group was in front of them, laughing and talking loudly. Todd was lost in his thoughts, looking down at his feet while walking. He probably wasn’t even aware that Diana was walking next to him. Only when Neil slowed down his walking, Todd looked up. He smiled kindly at his roommate and they started chatting. Diana respected their privacy and tried not to listen to their conversation. She had invaded their privacy enough by noticing the blush on Todd’s face and the smile that never left Neil’s lips when talking to his roommate. Suddenly, Diana felt lonely. Neil and Todd had each other, Charlie was walking in front of the group, ignoring her completely, and she wasn’t close enough with the rest of the boys to really talk to them. Ever since she woke him up, Charlie had acted weird. She blamed him being tired for the season behind his behavior, but that little voice in her head kept saying that she did something wrong. Anxiety had always been a big struggle for Diana. There was always the voice, that stupid voice, who told her that she was doing something wrong. She couldn’t even remember when this voice first started, Nina had always said that she had been like this ever since she was little. Diana missed Nina, even if she had been away from her for only a week or two. Nina had been like her mother, starting from the moment her biological one couldn’t handle the burden of taking care of Diana. It was hard being away from someone that important to her. Diana made a mental note to call Nina sometime soon, feeling a desperate need to hear her voice again. She was torn out of her thoughts by a sigh escaping from Todd’s lips. Diana looked at the young boy and saw Neil speeding up again to catch up with the rest of the group. ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.  
Todd shook his head and looked away. ‘It’s nothing.’  
‘Than why are you sighing?’  
Todd fell silent again, not trusting Diana enough to tell her his secret, but Diana was not eager to give up. ‘You know what?’ Diana began, ‘What if you tell me what’s wrong and I will tell you one of my secrets.’  
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, being a bit taken aback to this sudden deal. ‘What kind of secret?’  
‘Oh, it’s a good one.’ A smile formed itself on her lips.  
For a second, she was scared that he would not accept the deal, but the opposite was true. ‘S-sure, but you have to say it first.’  
Diana nodded and took Todd’s hand, forcing him to stand still. They were close to the cave and could already see the others going inside, so there was no fear of getting lost. Neil was the last one to head in, looking at Todd and Dan with a questionable gaze. ‘Are you coming?’  
‘Just a sec.’ Diana responded, smiling reassuringly. She could’ve sworn that Neil almost looked jealous as he walked in. Diana looked back at Todd, who seemed puzzled. Her behavior towards him wasn’t very manly, even she wasn’t stupid enough to not realise that. ‘You have to promise to not tell anyone, not even Neil.’ she whispered, just to make sure that nobody other than Todd would hear. The boy nodded, fidgeting nervously with his hands. Diana sighed, thinking about her spilling the beans for one last time, but then decided to just seize her day (or night). ‘So, I’m actually not supposed to be at Wellton. I’m not supposed to be allowed here.’ She began her story, but after realizing that Todd still didn’t get her she lifted her hand and pulled of her wig. Her brown, curly hair fell down, since she didn’t had the time to really tie it down. Todd’s mouth fell open, being taken aback by this revelation. How had he not seen this before? Why he… she… wouldn’t shower with the rest. Or why she never really spoke up, since her voice was slightly too high. Or why she always wore these oversized items of clothing, to hide her natural curves.  
Diana felt very self-conscious at that moment, being pinned down by Todd’s surprised gaze staring at her. ‘So, my real name isn’t Dan. It’s Diana.’ she said softly, trying to remind him of the fact that he was acting very uncomforting. Her attempt actually worked, as closed his mouth and moved again. ‘This is nothing compared to my secret.’ he whispered as he smiled softly.  
‘Just don’t tell anyone, yeah? It took me a lot of work to get accepted into Wellton, and I don’t want the board to find out.’  
Todd nodded and looked at the ground, being scared to say his secret. ‘I…’ He couldn’t find a way to let the words leave his mouth, the sentence being stuck in his throat.  
Diana noticed that he boy was too afraid and put her hand on his arm. ‘You’re gay. I know.’  
Todd’s head jerked up. ‘H-how did you know?’  
‘I noticed the way you look at Neil when you think nobody is watching. It’s the same way that I look at boys.’  
‘Boys like Charlie?’  
‘No! I would never- No!’ Diana sprung into the defense.  
A big smile appeared on Todd’s face, knowing that he had caught her in a lie. The smile faded as quickly as it had come into view as he remembered the secret that he just spilled. ‘D-don’t tell Neil, please.’  
Diana shook her head and smiled reassuringly at the shy boy. ‘I won’t. But you should know that Neil looks at you the same way. I could try to talk to him and figure out if he likes you back?’ she proposed.  
‘Would you really d-do that for me?’  
‘Of course.’  
Speaking of the devil, Neil’s head popped out of the cave again. ‘Are you guys coming?’  
Diana ducked behind Todd, since she still hadn’t put her wig back on. ‘Yeah, we’ll be there in a minute!’  
After Neil disappeared again, Todd turned around to face the hiding girl again. ‘Do you need help with your wig?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm really rushing this story, sorry for that, but I just really want to get into the exciting part. Of course there is quite some time in between the scene's, but I find it quite boring to just write the daily things that they do. I don't think that anyone would like to read the main character doing the same things for pages. So that's why it's going quite fast. I plan on slowing it down a bit, don't know how yet but I'll figure it out. I hope this chapter wasn't too silly!
> 
> Oh and yes, she did snatch her own wig


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sincerely - The McGuire Sisters
> 
>  
> 
> 28th of August, 1959 (Friday)

Once again, Diana had noticed another shift in Charlie’s behavior. She had thought that things would become less weird between them, after he invited her to the new meeting, but she had been so wrong. It had only become more awkward, him evading her even more than before. He never even glared at her anymore, like he felt guilty about something. But on a more positive note, Neil had gotten the part in the play. She had never seen him more excited about anything, not that she had known him for that long. Of course she also felt like it had something to do with him and Todd. Todd had told her that they kissed that day, and that they were sort of together now. Nobody could find out, but Todd and Diana trusted each other enough to share secrets like that. He was always there for her when she needed to rant. Sometimes she ranted about how she missed home, and Nina, or how stressful it was. But mostly, the ranting was about Charlie. Todd knew about their strange relationship, and how much it hurt her to see him taking distance from her like this. How could’ve she been so stupid to think that he would start acting like before again, before the meetings with the Dead Poets had begun. Maybe she had to step out of the society, if it meant that he would act normal again. She forced herself to put him out of her head, since she had more fun things to do, like calling Nina. She was walking towards the payphone. She had been looking forward to this for days now. With excitement she dialed the number, while holding the phone to her ear in anticipation. She waiting impatiently for the ringing to end, and finally she heard the familiar voice. ‘Hello, thank you for calling St. Joseph Orphanage. How may I help you?’   
‘Hey, Nina. It’s me.’ Diana said, immediately recognizing the voice on the other side of the line.  
‘Diana, oh what a pleasant surprise!’ Nina said loudly.  
Diana hushed her and looked around, since she was scared that someone would’ve heard her use her real name. She was relieved to see nobody around. ‘I was wondering if you had the time somewhere this week to catch up? I have a lot to tell you.’   
‘Oh yes of course! Just give me a second to check the calendar.’ She put the phone down and was heard walking away, to return after about a minute. ‘I’m free tomorrow? I know it is very short day, but the rest of the week is filled with visits from possible adoptive parents.’  
‘Tomorrow works fine for me, I don’t have any extracurricular activities that day, so I’ll be done quite early.’  
‘I just can’t wait to see you, dear. It’s been so different without you here.’  
Diana snickered. ‘You can tell me all about it tomorrow, I have to go now. Shall we meet at the diner around 5?’  
‘That sounds great sweetie. I’ll see you then!’  
‘Till then.’ Diana hung up the phone, instantly feeling much better. Talking to Nina had always made her spirit brighter. Tomorrow couldn’t come quicker.

 

Diana was heading up to her room, being happy to see that Charlie was still busy with his rowing. She had about an hour left before she would meet with Nina, which gave her plenty of time to dress up and think of a way to sneak out in her girl state. She could always just sneak out as a boy, and change clothes in a bathroom in the diner, but she preferred actually being able to enjoy every single second of time that she could spend as a girl. She walked into her dorm and shut the door. There was nobody inside right now, why would they be? It was sunny out, the perfect late-summer day. First of all, she started with pulling of her wig. She pulled out the pins that kept her hair up, so that she never had to worry about it showing. Her brown, wavy hair fell down and rested on her shoulders. She had to cut her hair a bit shorter than she preferred, so that it was easier to hide it. It now hit her collarbone. Taking of her wig immediately made her feel more like herself. She was good at hiding it, but it always made her sad to have to dress like a boy. She had trouble looking at herself in the mirror, not recognizing the person she would see. That was why this day meant so much to her. She threw her blazer on the chair and removed her tie. She started unbuttoning her shirt and threw it on the bed. After that she started removing her binder, which was a huge relief to her. She opened her suitcase, that she kept stored underneath the bed, and took out a simple shirt. It was white, with short sleeves and a v-neck that showed some skin. Not too much though, she was there to meet Nina after all, not to find a man. She also took a bra out of the suitcase. She pulled down her pants and changed them for a skirt. It had a plaid pattern, falling just above her knees. Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt content with the end result. She decided to pull out her small make-up bag, which only contained the essentials. She applied some eyeliner, not going too crazy, mascara and a classic red lipstick. After that she pulled out a radio, which she always kept hidden under the bed. Meeks and Pitts made one for her and Charlie. Once they figured out how to make radio’s, they started producing them like a fricking factory. Todd and Neil had one as well, just like Cameron and Knox. She was pretty sure that it wasn’t allowed, but she took the risk anyway. She turned it on, making sure that the volume wasn’t all the way up. The song playing on the radio was Sincerely, by the McGuire Sisters. She started swaying to the music. She still had about fifteen minutes before she had to leave, and rowing wouldn’t end for another hour. She softly started singing along with the music, folding her boy clothes and storing them underneath her bed.   
Sincerely, don’t you know how I love you. I’d do anything for you, please say you’ll be mine  
Without realizing it she slightly raised her voice, singing a bit louder than before. And without being able to do anything about it, Charlie appeared in her head again. She felt nervous around him, and that sucked since they shared a room together. He was very hard to read, never really showed any sort of emotion. He always had that same smirk on his face, like he was up to something. Little did Diana know that Charlie was walking up the stairs at that moment, on his way to Neil’s dorm. He had almost walked past his room, not hearing the voice singing, if it hadn’t been for the fact that the singing suddenly got louder. He walked up to Neil’s door, about to open it, when he heard it. He stopped in his tracks and retrieved his hand from the doorknob. He stepped back and looked at the door to his left. He slowly walked towards it, listening carefully. The voice he heard wasn’t that high-pitched, but definitely not a voice that belonged to a boy. He put his ear against the door, grinning when he realized who it was. He carefully opened the door, not wanting to disturb her. The image in front of him surprised him slightly. Diana was standing with her back towards him, not noticing the other presence in the room. She was dancing to music, that he now saw was playing on a record player. How she was able to hide it puzzled him, but she had also been able to hide the fact that she was a girl for three weeks already. He took a second to look at her, in the daylight. She was dressed in a skirt that revealed quite some skin, being above the knee. She had brown, half long hair that swayed with every move she made. She grabbed the bottom of her skirt and hiked it up a bit, dancing along to the beat of the music.   
‘And I’ll never, never, never, never let him go.’ she sang, moving her hips and her skirt with every ‘never’. He looked at her in awe, the way she moved was almost hypnotizing. And the skin she showed by pulling up her skirt like that put thoughts into Charlie’s head that for sure would get him sent to hell. He was fixated on her, watching every move. In complete obliviousness, Diana turned around in an attempt to do a spin. Her gaze landed on Charlie, and her eyes became as big as ones of a small deer. Charlie smirked, like normally, and watched her reaction with an amused look.   
‘Shit! Charlie, close the fucking door.’ She stormed towards him and slammed the door shut. She turned around and walked back to the bed, not knowing what to say or how to further react.   
‘Normally, I would be thrilled to find a pretty girl like you in my room, but right now I just have a lot of questions.’ he said, breaking the silence. He casually walked towards his own bed, sitting down in front of her. He lit up a cigarette and took a long drag, making her wait. His brows furrowed as he looked down at the lit cig in front of him. He inhaled the toxic smoke and looked at her, his chin slightly elevated and his usual grin on his face. He let the smoke drip of his lips, like sweet honey. ‘What is your real name? Danielle? Dana?’ He put one of his feet on the frame of the bed, pushing back his thin mattress. He put his right arm on his leg, tapping of the ash that had formed on the top of the cigarette.   
She looked at him in confusion. Why wasn’t he surprised? When she had told Todd he had been in absolute shock, but he was simply… Amused? ‘It’s….’ She couldn’t wrap her head around his how nonchalant he was being. For a boy as hormonal as Charlie Dalton she would’ve expected a bigger reaction. ‘Wait, why aren’t you shocked?’  
‘I already knew.’  
Now she was even more confused. How had he found out? She looked at him, trying to understand the young troublemaker. But all she could see was someone who loved messing with her mind. ‘How?’  
He took another drag and laughed out the smoke. ‘Remember the first Dead Poets meeting? When you tripped and fell on the bed, waking me from my oh-so-delightful slumber?’  
How could’ve she been so stupid. She should’ve known. Why didn’t she check that night? Had she really thought that he wouldn’t wake from her fall?   
‘But I wasn’t really certain. Don’t get me wrong, seeing you in those lovely, white knickers wasn’t something to complain about, but it definitely surprised me.’  
‘Than why did you start acting like a complete jerk?’ she interrupted him, longing for the answers that she had been seeking for so long.   
He raised his eyebrow. ‘That’s not very ladylike language.’  
She scoffed and rolled her eyes. ‘Just answer me.’  
‘I was confused, that’s all. I didn’t know how to act towards you, so I just figured that if I didn’t speak to you at all it would be easier.’  
‘That’s really stupid.’  
‘I know.’ He fell silent again, taking time to enjoy his smoke. ‘It was pretty dumb.’ He decided not to tell her about the time that he watched her changing, not wanting to mess up now. ‘Why are you all dressed up?’  
‘I have somewhere to be.’  
‘A date?’ he asked, once again being his casual and smirking self.   
‘If meeting up with my legal guardian is called a date, yes.’ She looked at the clock, realizing that she had to leave soon. ‘Why aren’t you at rowing?’  
‘Nolan got tired of me, so I got to leave early. Was about to pick something up for Neil when I heard your charming singing.’   
Makes sense. If she had been Nolan she would’ve sent him away as well. ‘Well, I have to leave. Are you going to help me sneak out?’  
Charlie’s grin became bigger and he put out his cig on the floor. ‘What’s the plan?’  
‘You go before me, and warn me if someone is close.’   
He agreed and Diana put on her big coat. She put on the hood, so that her hair was hidden. In silence the two walked downstairs, luckily not seeing anyone else. When they arrived at the gate he stood still, waiting for her.   
‘Thank you, and please don’t tell anybody about this. I really don’t want to get kicked out.’ she asked him.  
‘Begging is a good look on you.’ he sneered, but he knew that she would understand that he wouldn’t. She smiled at him and started walking away.  
‘Hartley, you never answered my question.’ he called after her.  
She looked back at him while moving. ‘My name’s Diana.’ With that she disappeared around the corner. Charlie’s smirk turned into an innocent smile as he looked at the spot she had just been standing. With a joyous look on his face, he returned back to the dorms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it's still super early for Charlie to find out, but it has been a few weeks now since the start of Diana's school year, so I thought that it would be unrealistic if she was able to keep it hidden for long. I also have decided to add the dates of the events that take place, so that it is easier to keep up with the amount of time that is in between the different chapters. I also will be adding some song titles in the chapter summaries, just like the dates. These songs are either referenced in the chapter or I think that they really fit what is happening. They will all be songs that are true to the timeline, so nothing from after 1959. I hope that you guys like these little additions.
> 
> Oh and also, I'm sorry for not updating in about 2 months. I have had a pretty big writers block and just couldn't get more than a sentence a day on the paper. I will try to update a bit more! Please let me know what you thought about this update!


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